By: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator “Conservation” is a term used often in the hunting and angling community and one that sportsmen and women celebrate. But what is conservation? According to Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the U.S. Forest Service and former Governor of Pennsylvania who established the modern definition, conservation is the “wise …
Highlights Why it matters: There are 13.3 million hunters and 32 million target shooters across the country, many of whom rely on public target shooting ranges. Through the excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, these individuals helped contribute $702 million just last year for state-based conservation and access funding under the Pittman-Robertson Act. …
CSF, Partners Urge DOI and USDA to Expand Recreational Shooting Opportunities Read More »
Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Highlights Why it Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies serve as our nation’s primary, and most well-equipped, managers of fish and wildlife and their habitats. Staffed by trained professionals with backgrounds in a wide variety of fields, including biology, law enforcement, lands management, and numerous other disciplines, these …
Highlights Why it matters: Allocating fisheries resources between the commercial and recreational sectors is perhaps the most difficult decision a regional fishery management council will face. Many allocations were set decades ago and have not been adjusted because of the contentious nature of deciding who should get more fish and who should get less. The …
Gulf King Mackerel Amendment Ignores Value of the Recreational Fishery Read More »
Contact: Kent Keene, Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Highlights Why it Matters: Conservation success stories, particularly those that result in increased opportunities for sportsmen and women, should always be cause for celebration. The successful restoration of Missouri’s black bear population through natural immigration from Arkansas and Oklahoma is one such example. Thanks to …
Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Highlights Why It Matters: The Virginia Board of Wildlife Resources’ adoption of the resolution expressing support for allowing Sunday hunting on public lands sends a strong message to the Virginia General Assembly as legislation to remove the prohibition on public lands Sunday hunting is considered. In the last two …
Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Senior Coordinator, Rocky Mountain States Highlights Why it Matters: Despite its enticing name, “Wildlife For All,” is the latest initiative to come out of the anti-sportsmen camp and riddled with misinformation and deception. Backed by notable and outspoken anti-hunting organizations, the initiative tries to challenge the indisputable and voluntary role sportspeople play …
Highlights Why it matters: Chronic wasting disease is a progressive, always fatal, degenerative neurological disease occurring in both farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, and moose (cervids) populations. Roughly 80% of hunters in the United States participate in some form of deer, elk, or moose hunting, and as such, it is critical that we stop the …
Highlights Why it matters: The Cottonwood decision prevents our nation’s forest managers from utilizing active management practices to improve our forests including timber harvests, timber stand improvement, thinning, and prescribed fire, among others. As a result, our forest managers are limited in their ability to improve habitat, increase forest resiliency to reduce the threat of …
CSF Supports Effort to Undo Crippling Decision Undermining Forest Health Read More »
Highlights Why it matters: This bill will be a critical step forward to mitigating the impacts climate change, man-made infrastructure, and natural disasters have on our nation’s coastal communities. The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources estimates that 640,000 acres, approximately the size of Rhode Island, will be under water by the year 2050. Unfortunately, this …
Legislation to Improve Coastal Protection and Resiliency Heard in Committee Read More »
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Highlights Why it Matters: Several recently introduced pieces of legislation could have positive effects on Michigan’s sporting communities. HB 5358-5360 would ensure that guides hired in the Great Lakes State are licensed, responsible, and trained to handle an emergency. HB 5187 & 5188 would protect the firearms industry and citizens’ …
Michigan House Introduces Wave of Sportsmen Legislation Read More »
Contact: Keely Hopkins, Assistant Manager, Pacific States Highlights Why It Matters: In recent years, hunting and fishing tournaments have come under fire by “animal rights” organizations who dislike the idea of animals being taken for a prize or reward. These groups, such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Project Coyote, have …
Nevada to Consider a Statewide Ban on Hunting Tournaments Read More »
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Highlights Why it matters: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was created to help species at risk of extinction and whose future is uncertain in the United States. Species on the list are provided with protections and funding for conservation efforts to ensure their recovery. Since its inception, 34 …
All Eyes on Wisconsin as Wolf Harvest Quotas are Set for Fall Season Read More »
Contact: Keely Hopkins, Assistant Manager, Pacific States Highlights Why it Matters: California’s hunting and fishing license sales have been declining over the last several decades, which has resulted in decreased funding for conservation and wildlife management efforts throughout the state. Under the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), a unique “user pays — public benefits” …
California’s “Free Hunting Days” Legislation Signed into Law Read More »
Highlights Why it matters: By far, the greatest number of saltwater anglers in the United States reside or travel to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coastlines each year to fish from their own boats or rely on the charter industry to take them fishing. Natural disasters, like hurricanes or an oil spill, can reduce …
CSF Applauds Passage of Fisheries Disaster Relief Bill Read More »
Contact: Nick Lewis, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Delaware has a rich hunting, fishing, and trapping community that is deeply embedded in the state’s traditions and history. The Delaware Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus has fought ardently to pass pro-sportsmen legislation and defeat efforts that would otherwise limit the rights of sportsmen and women within …
Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Menhaden are a critical part of the coastal ecosystem serving as an important forage food for many recreationally important species such as redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder, among others. Louisiana’s recreational anglers have continually expressed concerns about the proximity of industrial purse seines, …
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Highlights Why it matters: For more than a century, sportsmen and women have led the charge in the conservation of our nation’s fish and wildlife resources. Their efforts to implement wildlife management policies in the United States ultimately led to the development of our state fish and wildlife …
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Pacific States Assistant Manager Keely Hopkins was recently elected to serve as the Vice Chair of the National Horse and Burro Rangeland Management Coalition (NHBRMC). The NHBRMC is comprised of a wide range of sportsmen’s, wildlife, and land conservation organizations. The coalition collectively represents over eight million Americans and focuses …
Contact: Joseph Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Highlights Why it Matters: Upland hunting plays an integral role as one of our nation’s time-honored sporting traditions. It is a pursuit that cultivates an environment based on open dialogue while afield, allowing new hunters to have a much more engaged experience alongside their mentors. With relation to …
Pheasant/Quail Hunters in Massachusetts to See More Opportunities in 2022-2023 Read More »
